Geoje Jungle Dome

A view of Jungle Dome from its outside garden [photo: 거제방송]

The Jungle Dome

Geoje Jungle Dome is the largest, so far, glass botanical garden ever built in South Korea. It boasts its thousands of living species and compared itself to the well-known The Jungle Book by Disney's.

The Dome is located in Geoje City in South Gyeongsang province (경상남도), just off the coast of the port city of Busan. It is initially opened to the visitors on the 16th of January 2019.

Getting to Busan area takes at most 4 hours from Seoul by bus and less by speed train or KTX. If you want to fly, you can take a plane available in South Korea or outside that lands at Kimjae International Airport, the closest airport to Busan City and Geoje City.

Certainly, various modes of transportation can bring you where this gigantic glass dome is and explore its fascinating environment.

Now, let's move on further by describing quickly what the Jungle Dome has to offer. Here we go...

Shape & Size Features

The Jungle Dome is a giant hemispherical glass structure supported by metal frames. Looking from the outside or above, it resembles a colossal raindrop or an egg cut in half.

As you can see in the photo, its length is elongated, and its width is oval-shaped.

Seven thousand five hundred pieces of triangular glass filled-in the spaces between the metal frames supporting the Dome.

The Dome will house the 300 various species of tropical plants and over 10,000 plants from all over the planet.

Amazing Entrance
Definitely, Jungle Dome is born out of the inspiration of the Jungle Book.

In fact, you will find the Mowgli doll, the main character of Walt Disney's classic cartoon book--The Jungle Book.

You will see a structure shaped like a gigantic tree trunk at its entrance, and a wall garden delicately planted or decorated with a myriad of colorful flowers. And Mowgli is there as well.

Exciting Facilities

When you are inside, you'll be amazed by how things are put in their right places so that you will thoroughly enjoy its environment and spectacles.

The Dome, reaching 30 meters high and stretching across over 4,400 square meters, is built with...

several escalators,
an observatory
valleys,
a 10-meter high human-made tropical waterfall, and
a skywalk.

The Skywalk Inside the Dome
Walking along the ground level inside the Dome is impressive as you will find many plants that you have never seen in your life (with exceptions to botanists and people who explored similar places one Earth!).

But when you are walking high on the Skywalk, you will see a lot more, and could be mind-blowing. You will see trees and other tropical plants growing over twenty meters high before your very eyes.

You will find a cave section where you'll see more living things. This cave is connected to the Skywalk.

You will be amazed by the palm trees, various tropical fruit trees, and more plants and stone works that will greet you as you descend from the Skywalk.

Aside from bananas, coconuts, palms, mangoes, guavas, and other fruit trees, you will discover the legendary Bodhi Tree, the so-called "Tree of Enlightenment," and the famous Baobab Trees popularized by the Antoine De-Saint Exupery's book The Little Prince.

Also, you will find a 300-year-old Blackboard Tree as you pass by the human-made tropical waterfall. This tree seems to represent the idea that your dream comes true as you visit Jungle Dome.

Finally, you will get the complete view of the Dome's inside when you are at its Jungle Observatory, which is in the Dome's last section.

Visiting Hours & Entrance Fees

Please, see the below operation hours and fees. Since the information could change without prior announcements, please be flexible with your budget and other necessary travel adjustments.

Operation Hours
9:30 AM to 5:00 PM (November to February)
9:30 AM to 6:00 PM (March to October)

The last ticketing admission is an hour before the closing time.

Entrance Fees
One Adult: 5,000 KRW; Geoje City Resident: 4,000 KRW
Group (20 persons +): 3,000 KRW

The rate for youth, teenagers, and children are cheaper than those of the adults.

Getting to the Geoje Jungle Dome

Geoje City's Jungle Dome is accessible via public transportation available in Korea. The fastest way to get to Geoje City is by plane if you are somewhere outside the country or nearest to the country's airport.

Here we go...

By Air & Bus
Fly to Gimhae International Airport (PUS IATA), which is the closest airport to Geoje. Most travelers take this airport when they travel to Busan City, another city nearest to Geoje.

If you fly from the south (such as Hong Kong, Shanghai) to Gimhae, you will get spectacular views of Geoje City.

By Bus
Take a bus from Busan City at Busan Seobu Bus Terminal, which takes only an hour and twenty minutes to Okpo. The bus leaves on an hourly basis.

Alternately, take a bus from Busan Seobu Terminal to Jangseungpo, which takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes. The bus terminal is a bit distant from the ferry piers, so you need to take a taxi or walk if you can.

By Car
You can drive over your private or rented vehicle taking the toll expressway from Busan City to Geoje City.

The advantage when driving to Geoje is that you take time and make a quick stop at a human-made peninsula located beside the undersea tunnel.

Thanks for reading this article.
I hope you have a fantastic trip!